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Ian Rutherford Plimer (born February 12, 1946) is an Australian geologist, academic and businessman. He was first known as a prominent critic of creationism, but more recently he has been known for his skeptical views on global warming. He has published approximately 60 academic papers and six books, including his book on the global warming debate, Heaven and Earth — Global Warming: The Missing Science. He is a director of three mining companies.

Early life and career

Plimer grew up in Sydney. He was educated at Gordon Public School and Normanhurst Boys' High School. He earned a BSc at the University of New South Wales, and a PhD at Macquarie University.

Plimer then went to work at the Broken Hill mines, ultimately as chief research geologist at North Broken Hill. He has maintained an interest in the Broken Hill mining district throughout his career.

Plimer then moved to academia, first at the University of New England, New South Wales, next at the University of Newcastle, Australia , and then at the University of Melbourne. He is currently Professor of Mining Geology at the University of Adelaide.

Mining and geology

He is a director of three Australian mining companies: Ivanhoe, CBH Resources and Kefi Minerals. In 2008 and 2009, according to a columnist in The Age, Plimer earned over AU$400,000 from these interests, and he has mining shares and options worth hundreds of thousands of Australian dollars. Plimer rejects claims of a conflict between his commercial mining interests and his view that man-made climate change is a myth. Plimer has said that the proposed Australian carbon-trading scheme could decimate the Australian mining industry, and probably destroy it totally, as well as creating massive unemployment.

In 2009 a new phosphate mineral, plimerite, from the Broken Hill Ore Deposit in New South Wales was named for Plimer in recognition of his work at that mine and contributions to ore geology.

Affiliations

Plimer is listed as an associate of the Institute of Public Affairs, a free market think tank. In 2007, Plimer was listed as an "allied expert" for the Natural Resources Stewardship Project, a Canadian advocacy group that opposes the Kyoto Protocol.

In November 2009, Plimer was named as a member of the academic advisory council for Nigel Lawson's global warming skeptic group, the Global Warming Policy Foundation.

Plimer is a life member of the Australian Skeptics.

Critic of creationism

Plimer is an outspoken critic of creationism and is famous for a 1988 debate with creationist Duane Gish in which he asked his opponent to hold live electrical cables to prove that electromagnetism was 'only a theory'. Gish accused him of being theatrical, abusive and slanderous.

In the late 1990s, Plimer went to court alleging misleading and deceptive advertising under the Trade Practices Act 1974 against Ark searcher Allen Roberts, arising from Plimer's attacks on Roberts' claims concerning the location of Noah's Ark. The court ruled that Roberts had indeed made false and misleading claims on two of 16 instances cited by Plimer, Plimer had failed to show the other 14, and the two were minor enough to not require remedy, so Plimer lost the case, and was ordered to pay his own and Roberts' legal costs estimated at over 500,000 Australian dollars.

Climate change scepticism

Plimer is critical of what he sees as an irrational environmental movement and believes that the vast bulk of the scientific community, including most major scientific academies, is prejudiced by the prospect of research funding. He has also made a number of different arguments arguments regarding the science climate change, though many of them have been ignored or refuted. His book Heaven and Earth: Global Warming — The Missing Science argues that climate models focus too strongly on the effects of carbon dioxide, which is disputed by scientists involved in climate change research.

Awards, fellowships and prizes

• Member, Advisory Council for the New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries
• Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
• Eureka Prize (2002), for A Short History of Planet Earth
• Eureka Prize (1995), for promotion of science
• The Michael Daley Prize for the Promotion of Science (now a Eureka Prize), (1994), for communication of science
• Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
• Fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists
• Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society, London
• Clarke Medal, 2004
• Centenary Medal, 2003
• Rio Tinto Award for Mining Excellence, 2005
• Sir Willis Connelly Medal, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 2006
• Leopold von Buch Plakette of the German Geological Society, 1994

Source:

Bibliography

• Telling Lies for God - Reason vs Creationism, Ian Plimer, Random House, Sydney, 1994 (ISBN 0-09-182852-X)
• A Short History of Planet Earth, Ian Plimer, ABC Books, 2001 (ISBN 0-7333-1004-4)
• Heaven and Earth, Ian Plimer, Quartet Books (May 1, 2009 hardcover ISBN 978-0704371668) and Taylor Trade Publishing, Lanham, MD, (July 2009 Paperback ISBN 978-1-58979-472-6)

References

1. Johnson, Anne (2006-05-28). "The coffin, the Ark & the Prof". The Sunday Mail. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
2. ^ Ian Plimer at the School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide.
3. ^ "Mining Journal - Warming up". www.mining-journal.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-15. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
4. ^ "AdelaideNow... Why I'd put global warming on ice (profile of Plimer and his climate-sceptic views)". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
5. "Proactive Investors UK - Kefi Minerals has How many gold prospects in Turkey?". www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
6. "A resourceful climate sceptic". theage.com.au. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
7. ^ "Lateline Business - 11/11/2008: Ian Plimer joins Lateline Business". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
8. Mineralogical Magazine; February 2009; v. 73; no. 1; p. 131-148; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.2009.073.1.131
9. Mindat - Plimerite
10. "The Global Warming Sceptics Club — a Crikey list - Crikey". www.crikey.com.au. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
11. "Ian Plimer". www.ipa.org.au. Retrieved 2009-08-30. {{cite web}}: Text "Institute of Public Affairs Australia" ignored (help)
12. "Natural Resources Stewardship Project (NRSP)". 2007. Archived from the original on 12/02/2007. Retrieved 08/07/2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |archivedate= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
13. Davies, Caroline (2009-11-24). "The voices of climate change sceptics". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Text "Environment" ignored (help); Text "The Guardian" ignored (help)
14. "Top scientist debunks global warming". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 2009-08-30. {{cite web}}: Text "The Courier-Mail" ignored (help)
15. Penelope Debelle, The Advertiser (Adelaide), May 28, 2009, Why I'd put global warming on ice (archived by Plimer's publisher, Connor Court). "The outcome of the Federal Court case was not clear-cut but Plimer says he won...The Australian Sceptics were so impressed they made Plimer a life member."
16. Thomas H. Jukes (1995). "Battling creationism down under". Journal of Molecular Evolution. 40 (6): pp. 707–708. doi:10.1007/BF00160521. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
17. ""Telling Lies For God"? - One Man's Crusade". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
18. "Plimer book - Our point-by-point rebuttal". creation.com. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
19. Leigh Dayton (1997). "Ark verdict spells ruin for geologist". New Scientist. Retrieved 2009-07-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
20. "The Plimer/Roberts verdict". Creation Ministries International. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
21. Justice Sackville. "David Fasold & Anor v Allen Roberts & Anor [1997] FCA 439 (2 June 1997)". Federal Court of Australia. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
22. Carl Wieland. "Plimer Settles". Creation Ministries. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
23. "Denialist ark a wobbly craft". The Australian. 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
24. Geoff Maslen. "Noah's Ark case leaves professor high and dry". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
25. "Heaven + Earth - review by David Karoly - Science Show - 13 June 2009". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
26. ATSE.org.au
27. AUSimm.com.au
28. AIG.org.au

External links

• Ian Plimer, Professor at School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide. Includes a bibliography and awards list.
• Plimer's profile at Expert Guide , a directory of academic and professional specialists
• Plimer debates Monbiot ABC Lateline
• Video Interview with Brian Carlton - May 2009

• Australian geologists
• Skeptics
• 1946 births
• University of New South Wales alumni
• Macquarie University alumni
• University of Adelaide faculty
• Living people